I seriously had to research signs of physical hunger. I previously have eaten when I am bored, tired, stressed, excited, angry, sad....... My body seems to be "hungry" at the same time every day whether I just ate or not. I found a website with a hunger scale and a comparison of physical hunger vs emotional hunger that help me understand my body's physical hunger.
It is still not easy for me to identify if I am physically hungry or not. That is going to take some real work. In addition to focusing on this habit I am also trying to really appreciate my food. I am consciously using all 5 senses to think about what I am eating. Surprisingly, the food is more tasty when I do think about it purposefully. I am finding it easier to eat mindfully if I sit down at the table and turn all distractions off. I allow myself to listen to an audiobook but don´t allow myself to watch anything or play phone games. When I eat mindfully and think about chewing the food I find myself eating slower, too. So many habits are all working together making this easier once I get to the point where I am eating.
Once today, I thought I felt hungry. I was looking for something to eat. BBQ chips screamed at me. When I thought about the actual taste of them I was immediately turned off. The only things that sounded good to me where mindless snacks. Just like the chips, when I thought about actually digesting them I was turned off. I guess I wasn´t physically hungry. An hour later when I looked as some of those snacks as well as main dishes they all sounded good to me even when I really thought about putting them in my mouth.
Today is really the fourth day of my mindful eating and health journey. The first couple of days were surprisingly easy. I wasn´t hungry nearly as much as I normally would have been. I just thought I was hungry all the time. I was one of those people who ALWAYS had snacks. I think I have a real fear of hunger. Analyze that! However, Sunday was Fatherś day. I did some mindless eating at the family gathering. I am not sure if it is hormonal or what, but I am much hungrier today. I still worked on identifying if it was physical hunger. I tried drinking water when I felt hungry. I went through the great chip debate described earlier. Better habits! Slow and steady! Tomorrow is a new day. I will keep eating when I am physically hungry and appreciate what I am eating. In time, I will focus more on what I am choosing to eat. At this point, I am only breaking the mindless eating anything and anytime.
Calories - about 1400-1500
Feeling - had a hungry day but ate mindfully
Todayś weight 165
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